Focus on LocationChicago’s rental market varies widely by neighborhood.

I would definitely check Dunn and Bradstreet for any open lines of credit, liens, judgements and the like. 

PMs can minimize their suffering from unrealistic expectations by showing comparable properties that are on the market for rent and having a discussion with the landlord as to how their property compares and how his property can be more attractive to renters.Landlords are running a business. 

How confident are you on the ARV.

Great tools that get updated regularly.I am on the lending side of things and would be happy to hop on a call with you anytime to discuss financial strategies and help answer any questions you may have about nearly any loan product available to help you on your journey, even if they are not products my capital partners offer.We are all here to help you learn and grow.

He likely needs to stay where he is, save up money for a downpayment on his own, and buy when HE is ready.He's not ready. 

That said, I'm grateful for the alternatives you present--you're keeping the bottom line in mind, so I appreciate your help in exploring options that achieve the bottom line for the investors. 

Best of luck on your real estate future, it's been a fun adventure for me!

Meetup.com is pretty good, I'd check out here on BP and facebook as well. 

If I have several options, I would prefer a HELOC with no initial draw requirements (i.e. to establish a literal line of credit that I have no specific short term plans to use), i.e. not something like the better.com HELOC.